The Betty and Barney Hill Alien Abduction

The Hill case is without a doubt one of the most puzzling in UFO history, since it may be one of the only of the UFO abductions that involved a nuts-and-bolts spaceship from another star system. The Barney and Betty Hill story was published in another book by John G. Fuller called The Interrupted Journey.

In 1986, I met Betty Hill (Barney passed in February of 1969) at a UFO Convention in North Haven, Connecticut, at which we were both speakers. While I was having dinner with Betty, she related to me her experience, something she remembered as vividly as the day it took place. The following is a brief account of this most interesting case. The information was obtained through a number of sessions with Betty who, despite having many critics, was still convinced that she and her husband had contact with aliens from another world while driving through the White Mountains in New Hampshire during September of 1961.

Betty’s Story While driving south on US Highway 3 just after 10:00 p.m. on September 19, 1961, the Hills noticed a bright star in the sky that seemed to follow them for many miles. The light then changed course and looked like it was heading right for them, getting brighter and brighter with each passing moment. Betty mentioned that it was a UFO, but Barney, somewhat skeptical, said to his wife, “Don’t be foolish. It’s probably an aircraft or a satellite.” When the light continued to follow, Betty grabbed the binoculars from the back seat to take a look at this mysterious light in the sky. Betty said that she saw an object that had a double row of lights around it.

The object continued to approach the Hills’ car, and then it stopped above a number of trees less than one hundred feet away. Barney then stopped the car and got out to take a look for himself. He described what he saw as a large, glowing pancake-shaped object, and at that point he was sure that it was some type of top-secret military aircraft. As Barney continued to look, he said to Betty, “How interesting. The pilot of the craft is looking at me.” He then saw three others also looking at him from what appeared to be windows around the edge of the object. Barney became terrified, thinking these people might want to hurt them because he saw a top-secret military weapon, so the Hills got back into their car and raced away. Then they heard a strange beeping sound, which made them feel very drowsy. The next thing they remembered was hearing the beeping sound once again and becoming fully alert. They were surprised and then confused to notice that they were now several miles south from where they saw the UFO. They expected to arrive at home at three in the morning, but found that it was after 5:00 a.m.; somehow, someway, they had lost two hours of conscious time.

Strange, Shiny Circles The next day, Betty went out to the car and discovered over a dozen shiny circles scattered on the trunk. Each circle was about an inch in diameter and perfectly round. When a compass was placed near each spot, the needle spun wildly, indicating a strong magnetic field. The Hills then filed a report with Pease Air Force Base in Portsmouth just thirty-six hours after the incident.

Shortly after the encounter, Betty became obsessed with UFOs and tried to read as much material as she could to better understand what had happened to them. The Hills both began experiencing psychological and physical effects shortly after the encounter. Betty had nightmares almost every night about being taken out of the car and taken aboard a spacecraft by small, human-like alien beings with large heads. Barney began to suffer from high blood pressure, ulcers, and a strange circular rash, which appeared around his groin area. Both Hills underwent extensive medical examinations and were eventually referred to Dr. Benjamin Simon, a well-respected psychiatrist and neurologist with a background in regressive hypnosis therapy.

The Doctor Betty told me that she and Barney were in therapy for several months at the Hills’ own expense. Under hypnosis, they told identical stories on how their car stalled and they were surrounded by a number of little humanoid men dressed in tight-fitting uniforms. They were then taken aboard a craft and both were given physical examinations by an alien being that she called the doctor. Barney was frightened, so the being made him docile with some type of tranquilizer, and after her exam by the “doctor,” Betty was taken on a brief tour of the ship. When she asked where they were from, she was shown a star map. Betty was then told that they would not remember being taken aboard the craft, and the couple was released back to their car.

The last thing that Betty consciously remembers is seeing the UFO moving away high in the sky, appearing finally like a bright red-orange ball of fire. The Hills’ encounter was known only to a small number of people at the time, but that was soon to change when, in 1966, the magazine Look published a two-part excerpt from John Fuller’s The Interrupted Journey. Because of the publicity from the magazine the book became a bestseller. I first read the Hills’ story in Look, and although I was only about sixteen years old, it fueled my interest in UFOs even more.